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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bear — the animal
  3. track — a song
  4. tube — the underground
  5. can — to be able to
  6. track — a path
  7. field — farmland
  8. bear — the animal
  9. tube — a container
  10. fall — to drop
  11. field — for sport
  12. track — to keep track
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tear — from crying
  15. can — a tin
  16. field — a subject
  17. pop — soda
  18. tear — from crying
  19. can — a tin
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. fall — the season
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com